.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

[gtriple]

Personally, I'm sticking with something bigger I feel more comfortable with. Even with all the data and your success, I'd still be in my head about it and feel like that would impact my shot.

Shoot something with it and see if it changes your mind. Maybe not a once a year elk hunt, but a doe whitetail?

 

[SloppyJ]

Great stuff. I took my daughter out this weekend to shoot hers as well. IMO the 75bthp won’t come close to terminal performance of the TMK despite the fact that the bthp might group smaller. Personally I would settle for slightly less “accurate” and better terminal performance with the TMK.

That's what I figured. The TMKs didn't group horribly and I bet I can get them to a better group. I think the ticket is the seating depth as much as some people here say it doesn't matter.

Probably end up getting a waters mag or one of the 3d printed ones pharmseller was mentioning.

 

[Formidilosus]

That's what I figured. The TMKs didn't group horribly and I bet I can get them to a better group. I think the ticket is the seating depth as much as some people here say it doesn't matter.

Probably end up getting a waters mag or one of the 3d printed ones pharmseller was mentioning.

Is the TMK load over 2 MOA for ten rounds? Are you shooting deer past 600 yards or so?

 

[Pharmseller]

You're killing me smalls! I did not know if someone was selling them directly or if the was a link to a file to download with the prefered material!...

That was a good laugh!

Tikka .223 T3/T3X 2.55" OAL Magazines For Sale

Hello Everyone, My name is Adam and my company is Ascension Industries. I was approached by a friend and member of this forum about a project that he wanted me to take a shot at. He explained to me the capabilities of the Tikka .223 T3/T3X series of rifles and how they were limited by the...

www.24hourcampfire.com

 

[MoeFaux]

I was raised by a man who likes big bores, and he always brought more than enough gun to get the job done in the field. Consequently, I would have spent my life swearing up and down that a 223 is just barely enough to down a whitetail, and it would be irresponsible to shoot it anything bigger or tougher.

But this thread and a few others like it have changed my thinking.

Now, I'm still gonna shoot my 45-70 at bears, my 7mm Rem Mag at elk, and my .357 at pigs and deer. I'm not gonna be one of those weirdos who shoots everything with a 22 caliber bullet. . . but at least I won't tell them they're wrong anymore

 

[Pharmseller]

I was raised by a man who likes big bores, and he always brought more than enough gun to get the job done in the field. Consequently, I would have spent my life swearing up and down that a 223 is just barely enough to down a whitetail, and it would be irresponsible to shoot it anything bigger or tougher.

But this thread and a few others like it have changed my thinking.

Now, I'm still gonna shoot my 45-70 at bears, my 7mm Rem Mag at elk, and my .357 at pigs and deer. I'm not gonna be one of those weirdos who shoots everything with a 22 caliber bullet. . . but at least I won't tell them they're wrong anymore

FYI, you don’t need a 7mm Rem Mag for elk…








7mm, but not a magnum…




P

 

[Ajsomp]

Big thank you to everyone for all of the info on the kids rifle thread. I took my son (7) out to shoot his new 16" Tikka for the first time this weekend. I loaded up some 77tmks and 75 BTHPs since I have a boatload of those.

We started with the 22 and he is damn good on that spinner target with a red dot. So then we went to the Tikka at 50yds. First shot, bullseye. He shot about 15 through it and then I did some load testing. I left the chrono at home on accident but I certainly found the 75BTHP load it wants with 5 shots in the picture below. 24.5gr varget at 20 off.

I had a decent 77tmk load but I know it can do better so I'll keep testing. Can't wait to see what these will do to a whitetail in a month or so. Anyone had any luck with the hornady 75hpbt on game? If it keeps shooting this good it's going to be hard to swap to 77tmks unless they're that much better.

The 75 HPBT can be used for practice - same with the AAC 75 Sabre black tip. I’d still stick with 77TMK for game and actual data collection for the gun.

Reminds me, I need to pick up more ammo.

 

[Thegman]

I was raised by a man who likes big bores, and he always brought more than enough gun to get the job done in the field.

It seems that the guys using 223s are indeed bringing more than enough gun to get the job done.

I really appreciate all the data presented in this thread. It has opened up an entirely new angle on hunting that has, so far, been really useful and really successful.

If you're thinking about it, the only way to really be sure is to give it a "shot". It may not be something you'll keep doing, but it will not likely fail.

 

[SloppyJ]

Is the TMK load over 2 MOA for ten rounds? Are you shooting deer past 600 yards or so?

No, the TMK shoots just fine by those standards. I know the argument and the data about group size versus the human error and wind. But I'm OCD when it comes to loading and like to see what variables affect the load and group size. If I can make it tighter then I'm going to try. If not, then it will suffice. I like tinkering I guess.

 

[ElPollo]

Tikka .223 T3/T3X 2.55" OAL Magazines For Sale

Hello Everyone, My name is Adam and my company is Ascension Industries. I was approached by a friend and member of this forum about a project that he wanted me to take a shot at. He explained to me the capabilities of the Tikka .223 T3/T3X series of rifles and how they were limited by the...

www.24hourcampfire.com

That’s not a bad idea, but it’s the springs in the Tikka 223 mags that are the big problem at the moment. That mag gives you the extra length, but leaves you with the spring that fails after a couple hundred rounds. Hopefully Tikka will get their spring supplier issue resolved soon.

 

[BLJ]

Tikka .223 T3/T3X 2.55" OAL Magazines For Sale

Hello Everyone, My name is Adam and my company is Ascension Industries. I was approached by a friend and member of this forum about a project that he wanted me to take a shot at. He explained to me the capabilities of the Tikka .223 T3/T3X series of rifles and how they were limited by the...

www.24hourcampfire.com

I have 4 of them and have had no issues.

 

[Dave0317]

Personally, I'm sticking with something bigger I feel more comfortable with. Even with all the data and your success, I'd still be in my head about it and feel like that would impact my shot.

From a mental standpoint (because physically, less recoil is more accurate) if I use a smaller caliber, my head tends to push me towards shooting better. If I think I’m using a barely adequate weapon, I tend to choose my shots wisely and place them exactly in the spot I think it will kill best.

 

[mt terry d]

I just plain shoot the 223 better.
If you believe as I do that shot placement is THE first and foremost priority
in efficient killing then the answer is pretty simple regardless of how contrary
it may be to our long held notions.

If I were and elk and I had the choice of me being shot at by someone really good with a 223
and someone who was pretty good with a 300 win mag I'd take my chances with the guy behind the 300 win mag.
Like the old saying "a miss is good as a mile".

phrase​

1. A failure remains a failure, regardless of how close to success one has actually come.

 

[Pharmseller]

That’s not a bad idea, but it’s the springs in the Tikka 223 mags that are the big problem at the moment. That mag gives you the extra length, but leaves you with the spring that fails after a couple hundred rounds. Hopefully Tikka will get their spring supplier issue resolved soon.

None of my springs have failed.

LOTS more than a couple hundred rounds.



P

 

[ElPollo]

None of my springs have failed.

LOTS more than a couple hundred rounds.



P

I’ve had three 6- round 223 mags start regularly failing to feed within 200 rounds. The 4 rounders are a bit more durable than that, but are still having issues. I called Beretta customer service about it and they said it was a known issue related to a parts supplier but they didn’t have a solution to it yet. It’s apparently specific to their 223 mags. Given that they didn’t have a fix, I bit the bullet and bought three Waters magazines because it’s the gun that I currently put the most rounds through.

The Waters mags work great but cost about as much as the ammo it takes to kill a Tikka 6-round magazine.

 

[BLJ]

My experience has been with the 4 round mags.

 

[IDHoundsman]

How quick does PSA usually get the 75 grain Sabre stuff back in stock? Best cheap practice ammo I’ve tried.

 

[MEwaters]

Great thread everyone. Tons of info and wonderful harvests. Impressive what 223 will take!
Looking for advice. Will be using 16” AR in 1:7 twist. Maine whitetail. Within 200 yards.
Was going to use the 77TMK but unavailable so looking for another option.
73gr ELDM?
75gr gold dot?
I have some 77 OTM and 62 TAP barrier but looking for solid option.
I have seen the 75 results here and read the threads on 73 Eldm. Pretty new to it all.

 

[Ajsomp]

Great thread everyone. Tons of info and wonderful harvests. Impressive what 223 will take!
Looking for advice. Will be using 16” AR in 1:7 twist. Maine whitetail. Within 200 yards.
Was going to use the 77TMK but unavailable so looking for another option.
73gr ELDM?
75gr gold dot?
I have some 77 OTM and 62 TAP barrier but looking for solid option.
I have seen the 75 results here and read the threads on 73 Eldm. Pretty new to it all.

Have you checked out PSA?

https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-5-56-nato-77-grain-sierra-tmk-20rd-box-ammunition.html

 

[MEwaters]

Have you checked out PSA?

https://palmettostatearmory.com/aac-5-56-nato-77-grain-sierra-tmk-20rd-box-ammunition.html

I have. Also read the multiple threads here and arfcom and not sure if it’s as recommended as BH given the test results and possible QC concerns. Haven’t seen any game threads on it yet. If the aac is highly recommended vs the 73eldm or gold dot or a tsx then I would go for it